Challenge

Here we
are--old. I'll race you to the finish line.
Winner's prize: not having to live
alone.



The Worst Part

Is not
the sneezing, raw
throat, dammed up/​flooding--naw--
it's the coughing, coughing, coughing,
coughing.



Library Trilogy

1. At the Library Return
Dad hands
his son each book
to drop into the slot,
till--"not the cow book!" What a rave
review.

2. I Miss the Smile and Small Talk But . . .
I like
self check-out when
the book's about, you know,
bankruptcy or human repro-
duction.

3. Like Toys, They Come Alive at Night
They don't
have fun. They mourn
those overdue, withdrawn,
and lost. All books have unhappy
endings.

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Copies of my poetry chapbook, Songs in the Static, are $12, including postage. And if you order more than one, they are $10 each, including postage. E-mail me at the link up at the top of this column.